Attempted Attack on Jewish Deputies in Roumanian Parliament Following Insulting Remarks by Cuzists

December 16, 1932

Bucharest (Dec. 15)

An attempted physical attack on Jewish Deputies in the Roumanian Parliament today, was made by Cuzist deputies. It was only the forcible intervention of the stewards that prevented the Cuzists from actually reaching and assaulting the Jewish deputies.

The scene occurred during a debate on an Address from the Throne, during which Deputy Cuza, in a two hours’ speech, demanded that Jews be excluded from the Army, quoting a passage from the Bible which he declared permitted cowards to remain outside the fighting camp. In his speech he also opposed the colonization of Jewish agricultural workers in Bessarabia and attacked M. Titulescu, Foreign Minister, for receiving Zionist leaders.

Pro-government Jewish Deputies as well as members of the Jewish Parliamentary Club, protested against the imputations contained in the speech, but were met by tumult and shouting on the part of the Cuzists, who, at this stage, attempted to assault the Jewish deputies.

The sitting broke up in disorder. Deputy Cuza is to continue his speech today.

There have this year been a number of violent scenes in which Cuzist deputies have either assaulted or attempted to assault Jewish deputies in the Roumanian Parliament House.

On November 29th, Deputy Mischu Weissman, one of the members of the Jewish Parliamentary Club and President of the Roumanian Zionist Organization, was hit in the eye in Parliament by Deputy Georg Cuza, the son of the anti-Semitic leader, Professor Cuza.

In September two Cuzist Deputies, Robu and Adam, assaulted Deputy Landau in the Parliament lobby, while as long ago as last March, Deputies Landau and Joseph Fischer, made a formal complaint to the President of the Chamber, on behalf of the Jewish Club, that the Jewish Deputies were being systematically terrorized by the Cuzist Deputies who were threatening them with personal violence.